Armstrong Small Group Discussion Leader Assignment
LIT 241 / Mythology
Inst. Hill


Each student from class will be assigned a chapters from Armstrong's book. The responsibility for these students will be to lead a small group discussion on that chapter the day it is covered in class.

Leading the discussion does not mean "teaching" the group, but rather entails

  • having carefully and thoughtfully read the chapter
  • preparing questions you might have about the content (you do not have to have answers), but the questions should be those you want to direct to your peers, not just to me as the teacher
  • making notes about your own response to the section – what connections you made to the reading for whatever reason (it might be a history connection, a cultural connection, a personal story connection, etc.)
  • sharing ideas from your summary (not just reading it out loud) about what you thought was a main point(s) from the chapter, what you think Armstrong wanted the reader to "get" from the reading
  • being able to make direct and specific references to the text (bookmark your pages!)
  • a willingness to share you thoughts with and take questions from others as well as ask questions back
  • either you or a colleague reporting to the whole class (we’ll talk about this)

Note to everyone else – Just because there are discussion leaders does not mean you can sit back and be quiet. The expectation is that you will talk to one another! Remember – you are going to have your turn to lead the discussion, and you’d like it if others participated (what goes around, comes around…). I will allow for terribly uncomfortable silences to fill the room. If you don’t want that to happen, speak up!

Your assigned chapter is IT. If you miss a day, it cannot be made up by bumping onto someone else's. If you want to change or swap with someone, you may do so, but I need to know this in advance of the discussion class. If you miss any portion of your discussion, you will receive no credit, not partial credit.

Expect discussions to last 20-30 minutes.

There will be 3-4 people in each group.

Credit value: 10 points (in addition to your written summary, which will still be due)